Chevy has the best Santa

You see a lot of Santa's this time of year. Most look like drunk rednecks behind a fake white beard, but Chevy's Santa is awesome.

Here's one of many commercials that aired this year.

good copy. good promotion.

Nice attitude for the Dodge Journey tied to a promo where three of the vehicles were "hidden" somewhere in America. All three have since been found, but it was a clever idea.

Creating tension.

It's hard to do a lot of things in a 30-second spot, but this commercial for AT&T is brilliant. It starts out by creating a strong feeling of (humorous) tension in an office environment, and never let up. Awesome.

What's wrong with this picture?

Fun commercial, but:

* Flight attendants don't ask how you're doing if you already have a beer in your hand.

* They don't serve you alcohol when you look that "relaxed."

* They don't serve glass bottles on a flight.

Still, these little nitpicks aside, the overall campaign continues to be strong.

Maryland having fun with its own branding.

Love 'em or hate 'em, Maryland's new football uniforms certainly command attention. Taking a page from the Oregon Ducks and Nike, the Terrapins' partnership with Under Armour takes it to the next level (up or down, you make the call).

Lowes goes "Target."

Apparently, all the cool kids are doing it these days...

The definition of "vapid."

This is for my former creative director, who absolutely hates this spot. With good reason...

Toyota stops being defensive, starts being brilliant.

You can tell exactly who the target audience is in these spots for Toyota, which makes them a home run. These have the look of a leader ignoring recent troubles and moving on.

The power of imagination.

Funny, how your mind puts all the pieces together in this spot for Geico. That's precisely why it's funny.

Interesting web banner

Got my attention, but when I clicked on it, they wanted to access my Facebook info. So naturally, I said "No way, Jose."

Well, it almost worked...

Simple commercials are always the best.

I never get tired of watching this one. It's a spot every parent can relate to.

Rocky!

Best use of an almost curse word to gain attention.

It stops me every time I hear it.

Guinness has a little fun with its product.

Maybe not what you were expecting...

Who's paying attention to the flight attendant now???

Look closely...

When was the last time you saw a really cool music video?

try this

Apparently, your dog wants you to get a Porsche.

Works for me...

The fun continues.

Another New Era spot.

and more production values...

Someone's having too much fun here...

Production values.

In the era of constant budget-tightening, it's nice to see some advertisers are still creating television commercials with plenty of production values. This spot wasn't cheap, but it sure is fun.

Sucker.

Apparently, pets aren't "saved" during The Rapture, but...not a problem.

Personally, I'd rather hang behind with my Lab...

(click to embiggen)

Boston vs. NY

The rivalry continues.

If only football commercials were this good...

Execution is everything.

This Budweiser spot isn't new in any great conceptual way. But the execution and the production values are flawless.

wtf?

I guess someone besides Dodge IS having fun.

Drunk-umentary

Fun.

Possibly even effective.

Wal-Mart TV feels familar.

These spots are reminiscent of an outdoor campaign Target had a few years back that would list three distinct items that told a whole different story when you saw them together. Not sure if that was the inspiration for these new Wal-Mart spots, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Is Dodge the only car company having fun out there?

Shhhh. It's this month's most annoying commercial.

Hardee's does it again.

No one has more politically incorrect fun than Hardee's. Note to Juke advertisers: here's how you do it without being creepy.

The best part? I'm pretty damn sure the entire male population now knows Hardee's has a Turkey Burger. And that, my friends, IS their target audience.

Just shy of brilliant...

Lame & Taylor

Normally, I'd be impressed with anyone in the fashion world who tried to have a concept in their advertising. Most don't even bother.

But this series for department chain Lord & Taylor is sad, mostly because the line "Oh My Lord & Taylor" sounds like something created by a first-year copywriter.

Still, if they had taken an outrageous photo (think Diesel) to go with it, they might have something.

But they didn't. And they don't.

Advertising that makes fun of advertising

always sucks.

Doubly so here, because unlike the Apple spots, these aren't even funny.

Forced. Contrived. Sad, really.

The trouble with success

is that agencies keep trying to repeat it.

wow.

The new Juke is a real jerk.

After a funny introductory commercial to tell the world about their new Juke car, Nissan takes a big step back, to say, 1970, with a series of commercials that are neither clever nor sexy.

But I'll say this: with the SI Swimsuit Edition tie-in, it's painfully obvious who the target market is.

Maybe they should watch some Axe commercials for a little inspiration...

Fun with Dafoe

Though I'm guessing Jim Beam is no longer a favorite in Milwaukee...

The most talked-about Super Bowl commercial

wasn't a commercial.

Love the attitude.

Dodge is back, baby!

They must be if they're spending this much on production.

Fun stuff.

the flip side of youth

Since Viacom won't let me show the Skins trailer (which you can easily find on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTw2Lu-8tRs), so who are they fooling?), just wanted everyone out there to know that seniors can have their wild moments, too. As long as all you care about, apparently, is eye color.

Ahhhh, youth...

Those crazy kids! Look what they're up to now!

Like Madonna and Gaga, it just gets harder and harder to be outrageous. But that's not gonna stop MTV from trying.

Cold. But in a good way.

What a great way to advertise an unlimited phone plan to a jaded audience. The sports one is especially good.

funny yet creepy

I dunno, maybe it's because the guy looks like John Edwards, but it creeps me out.